Bad Book
by Sandalaris
Summary: She knew that no good could come from reading.
1. Chapter I

**A/N: My first chapter fic for this fandom. I don't expect it to be more than five chapters. Sorry this first one is so short.**

The book shuts with a soft snap, dark eyes glaring in aggravation, as if the paper covering was to blame for her current predicament.

"Done?" Her eyes move up to meet Justin's, nodding as she absently wonders if there's a way to convince him to add a few pages to her count. Long fingers unfurl, palm up, towards her in an almost graceful movement of request. But it wasn't her he was reaching for, and she gave up the book with a resigned sigh to his out stretched hand, allowing him to check and record her progress.

"One twenty-one. A fourth of the way there." The dark haired girl just glared at her brother's proud smile, scoffing at the teasing glint that entered his eyes.

"Laugh it up. You just wait until Mom and Dad make you do something you hate." The smile doesn't leave his lips though and Alex crosses her arms across her chest, leaning back against the bright arm of the couch, eyes darting away as she debates how much dignity she'll lose if she storms out and if it's worth it.

Just as she decides that it's better if she stays put until he leaves, she notices the thoughtful look growing on her elder brother's face as he studies the cover. "What?" she snaps, waiting for whatever teasing insult was ready on his tongue.

His head snaps up, book in hand, and his eyes not focusing on the girl beside him, before turning back. "Nothing. I just didn't realize you were…" He moves the paperback up, between them as he gestures with it. "Flowers in the Attic," he says simply, as if that explained everything. He gets up, taking the spread sheet and leaving Alex alone in her confusion before blowing it off as another Justin Being a Dork moment.

Both her parents are wearing proud smiles, and Alex grimaces as images of charts with gold stars and promises of a lollie pop enter her mind. She's _reading_. A book; and not one written by H.J. Darling and all it took was a call from the school saying she was failing English, again, one hour of her mother negotiating for extra credit, and nearly an hour and half of screaming, yelling and threats before Alex was wrestled into submission and a closely monitored reading regimen.

"Can I be excused?" Her voice is bland, tired. All this reading must be taking its toll.

There's a quick over view of her plate, checking the amount of vegetables left and the half eaten chicken leg, before her mother seems to deems it satisfactory and nods. The young wizard is quick to place her plate in the dishwasher, darting up the stairs to her room, not bothering to remove more than her shoes before curling up on the bright comforter and allowing sleep to take her.

**AN: So, I'm ending it here, cause I'm actually trying to write a chapter fic for this story, and I can't get too far into this chapter without wanting it to be a one-shot. So consider this an introduction if you will; more of a prologue. Again, sorry so short.**


	2. Chapter II

**A/N: I apologize for how long this took. I'll try to get the next chapter out in the next week.**

She kind of likes the Cathy character; she's got spunk and doesn't put up with her older brother's know-it-all attitude. She doesn't tell anyone this little tidbit, not even Harper, because then they'll start to think making her read is a _good _thing, and make her do it again, and she really doesn't want that.

There's a bond between the siblings, one she can see mirrored in her and her own Too Smart for His Own Good brother. It's all about secretes and the underlining knowledge that you're all the other's really got; and maybe it makes her get into the book a little more.

"You're going to have to pick it up." Long hair swishes around her mother's head as she looks towards Alex. "You've got to have your report done in just a few more weeks, and you're barely half-way." The young wizard let out a frustrated groan, falling sideways onto the brightly colored couch. The stern look on Theresa's face did not waver though, dark eyes watching her only daughter's display. She's determined Alex is going to pass this class, no matter what. "After dinner you're going to sit down a read some more." At Alex's indignant stare, she quickly adds, "No getting out of it. You _have_ to pass this class."

* * *

Justin fidgets next to her and its becoming annoying. She stares at the way he bounces his knee, gritting her teeth and contemplates hitting his restless leg with the paperback before deciding it's not hard enough. He won't look at her, eyes trained on the coffee table and arms crossed. She's not sure why, but his blatant ignoring of her presence angers her more than his uneasy twitching.

"Justin!" she snaps, and his head jerks towards her, gray eyes flickering downward to the cover in her hands before landing on her face once more.

"You done?" She's only read two chapters and truthfully she's kind of curious as to what happens after the swim in the lake, but she doesn't see how she'll be able to concentrate with her big brother fiddling beside her.

She sighs "Yeah," before handing over the book and allowing him to jot down her measly progress before he jumps up, and nearly running up the spiral staircase.

* * *

_The rustle of moving sheets and muffled breathy gasps fill the room. She can feel hands on her body, taste sweat on her tongue, and hear the stream of low mutter of curses issuing from the body above. There's something wonderfully forbidden hidden in each dirty word, every breath just brushing the shell of her ear, and a thrill at the thought that she was the reason behind them. Black locks are caught between her fingers and familiar eyes watch her shift and squirm, but she can't focus enough to put the features together in a way that make since. There's a name, on the tip of her tongue, just out of reach and her ears strain to catch the mumbled words issuing from her mouth in hope they hold a clue._

An annoying buzz rips the scene to shreds as Alex is thrown back into the world of the living. One hand shoots out to cease the insistent noise, the other to cover her eyes as a frustrated groan escapes her lips.

* * *

**A/N: I forgot to mention in the last chapter that if you've read ****Flowers in the Attic ****you'll understand this fic a lot more. Although a basic knowledge of the plot should be fine, but I can't guarantee you'll get everything. **

**If you haven't read the book here's a few things that you might need to know:**

**Chris is Cathy's older brother; he loves to read, likes to follow the rules their mother gave them, and is super smart.**

**Cathy is more of the artistic type, she dreams of being a dancer and actress, and makes fun of Chris for knowing things.**

**They go skinny dipping in a lake and in the chapter before that, Chris walks in Cathy while she's naked and they stare at each other for a while before the sexual tension between them is broken by someone walking in.**


	3. Chapter III

**A/N: I won't bother you with the reasons why, but I assure you, I do have them. I am beyond sorry though. **

Chris and Cathy had sex. She's not sure how she feels about this; part of her thinks that she should have seen it coming, although she's not sure why. But Chris gets kind of upset afterwards and claims her raped her while Cathy pats his back and assures him she wanted it and Alex can't help but laugh at how ridiculous the older brother is being; images of late nights wrestling matches on the coach come to mind and she blatantly ignores the reasons why the two situations are similar.

She doesn't understand Chris's panic, but it's familiar and predictable; he's so like her own goody-two-shoes brother. She's gotten used to manipulating him into thinking she's partially to blame after the few times the dark haired boy had done wrong. She can handle it, he can't.

Justin acts weirder than usual after he marks her progress, and she'd asked him what's wrong, but that would imply she cares and perhaps pull her into a conversation about feelings and problems that can't be fixed with a quick fight and hug or a flick of her wand. He studies at her though, and she realizes with a kind of start that he hasn't really _looked_ at her since he discovered the title of the paper back. The young wizard clenches her jaw, trying not to shift under her brother's intense scrutiny and failing.

"They didn't stay together." It takes a second to register her own words, and there's a bitter-sweet taste on her tongue as she realizes this disappoints her; she chalks it up to the deeply hidden romantic in her simply wanting a happy ending.

There's a pause beside her and the older boy evaluates her words, testing them carefully and she pictures beakers and machines that do complicated mathematics. "They do later, in one of the sequels." He's watching her face, recording her reaction to his own response, and she's not sure what surprises her more; that she's pleased that the two will one day continue their illicit relationship, or that her brother seems to be relieved over her disappointment that they ever separated.

She looks up the next books in the series, reading quick plot summaries and seriously contemplating reading through another book just so she can see Chris and Cathy have their happily ever after. It lasts all of five second though before she decides that the knowledge is enough.

Harper talks her into starting on her paper. Words like "easier" and "faster" finally convincing the under achiever to at least try it her best friend's way. She also has a sneaking suspicion that it's the only way she's going to get the redhead to shut up.

_Explain the significance of the relationship between the main characters. (2-4 pages)_

The young wizard wonders absently if maybe the teacher knew a head of time what book Alex would be reading and planned the question for her. It wouldn't be the first time a teacher had purposely given her an easy assignment in hopes that she'd pass and they'd never have to see her again.

She's gotten over half a page done before her mom comes to fetch her for dinner. Theresa tries to convince her to let Justin read over it, but she stubbornly refuses. It's not ready, and for some reason it's really important that it is before he sees her work.

They sit close at dinner, arms brushing every once in a while and her stomach kind of clenches in a way that's not unpleasant. His long legs are stretched out in front of him under the table, jeans brushing her bare leg and gray eyes sparkling happily as he tells of something that happened in chemistry class lifting his fork as a prop to better explain his story. She's not sure if she's always been this aware of him, or if it's a new thing.

It's only later that night, when she's "working" on her science homework (also known as painting her nails) and she feels the familiar prickle at the back of her neck does she realize that she's always _known _him, always been aware of the dark haired boy in a way that she's never been aware of anyone else; she never claimed to be self-observant. She turns her head quickly, brown eyes peeking at him out of the corner of her eye as she gives him an unhappy look at being interrupted.

"Can't you see I'm doing homework?" She ignores the way he lifts one eyebrow, eyes glancing over the brush between her fingers and the paint drying on her left hand.

"Really now? And what class is that for?" He doesn't expect an answer, his voice taking on the mocking tone his little sister hates so much.

She doesn't justify him with an answer, turning back instead to her waiting half done nails in hopes that he'll go away; he makes her think about _things _when he's that close and she doesn't like it. He moves closer though, smelling faintly of the pasta they had for dinner and detergent and all things family, and she wants to tell him to go away, but then the stubborn boy might listen and that bothers her more than his presence.

He sits next to her on the bed, jolting the bottle of brightly colored paint and dark eyes watch as several drops spill over onto the expensive comforter she begged their father to get her before a familiar hand reaches out to grab it and place the bottle on the girl's bed side table. Alex looks up to glare at her older brother, mouth opening slightly to berate him for spilling the contents, but the words die on her lips. When did he get so close? Her heart is pounding loudly in her chest and a brief question of if Max can hear it flashes through the young wizard's mind before settling back on the boy in front of her. Gray eyes are intense as the dark haired teen nervously licks his lips; her eyes are automatically drawn to the movement.

There's the urge to say something, to break whatever it is that's happening because she's not ready for it, whatever it is, but there's no stopping the thought that if she does, it may never happen again and she's not sure she can handle that.

"Done with your homework?" The voice startles both teens and two heads turn quickly to see their father standing in the door way. She feels an unusual flash of guilt at the non-suspicious look in the gray eyes so like that of the boy sitting across from her, but she quickly smashes it down.

"Justin spilled nail polish on my bed." She's suddenly unexplainably angry, face flushed and unable to look at her brother.

But Jerry doesn't even bother to punish Justin, only lightly berating him as he leads him out of the artist's room and calling to Theresa to help Alex clean up the stain. She throws her book against the wall after her father and brother are gone, feeling that somehow it's to blame for her troubles. No good could come from reading.


	4. Chapter IV

**A/N: What you need to know about **_**Flowers In the Attic **_**for this chapter.**

**1) Chris and Cathy's younger brother wants to keep a mouse he caught. **

**2) Everyone's (but the bad grandmother who locks the kids in the attic) hair is blond in the book. Well, that's part of the family anyway**

Her dreams are a jumbled mess, mixing together until she's unsure where one begins and the other one ends.

_Chris stares at her accusingly, thin lips set in a harsh line while their father tells Max he can't keep the mouse. The smell of acetone is strong in her nose as she falls back onto the old worn mattress in the middle of the lair, strong hands leaving bruising marks on her arms and a hard mouth moving angrily against her own. "You two need to hurry or you'll be late," Harper tells them from her place on the old fashion couch, sewing together the badly creased spine of a familiar book, although the title has long since been worn away. She can see her mother's back as she walk away claiming she would not forget her own kid, blond hair swaying in the Caribbean wind and bare feet hot against the sandy beach._

Sleep is a broken thing that night, coming and going as it pleases until Alex is left with dark circles and slow movements as her alarm blares in her still room. She's unsure if it woke her, or if she was already awake.

Her best friend is surprised when the dark haired girl doesn't plop her lunch bag down on their usual table, but doesn't comment. She's the girl that "doesn't care what anybody thinks" and if she wants to sit at the "upperclassmen geeks" usual spot than she will. It's different but it's lunch with Justin and Zeke, so it's not hard for the auburn headed girl to bite her tongue. Alex is still angry at Justin for the nail polish incident; her mother claims she's overacting and the young wizard refuses to acknowledge the little voice in the back of her mind claiming that she may be right. She's irritated, exhausted and strangely frustrated and he's always been there for her to take it all out whether he's to blame or not, no reason for that to change just because something _happened _last night; even if she's unsure what.

Lips turn up in little amused smiles as she makes jabs at him and steals his dessert and this just infuriates her more. Harper and Zeke don't seem to notice the siblings odd behavior, happily chatting away about something the other two have already tuned out.

She goes to Earth Science, hoping to catch a few minutes of sleep but find herself sketching a quick picture of Chris and Cathy sitting on a roof, shoulders just brushing; if she _accidently _colors the two supposed to be blond siblings' tresses in with her black pen and _forgets _that Chris has curly locks it's all just artist liberties really.

Harper finds her sleeping in an empty art classroom before last period and wakes her. She's not sure if she should be grateful or not; she can't skip English without risking another call home, but she feels better, a little clearer with just those couple hours of sleep and wonders what would happen if she was allowed just a little more time.

There's only a quiz that simple and easy; she's still one of the last in the class to finish, but she thinks she did ok. Mr. Thompson opens his mouth to tell her something, probably a reminder about the book report due just a week away, but she beats him too it, turning back to her seat before one syllable can escape his lips and pulling out the paper back.

It isn't until after school, after she's passed the part where Chris tells Cathy they have to leave before the snow comes, and is walking next to her best friend, her brother on the other side while thinking about dinner and bed and the smear still marring her comforter that she gets it; something shifts and clicks into place and suddenly, she knows.

**A/N: I'm thinking two more chapters left. I have a one-shot for JONAS that I've told one too many people and they are now expecting that I'm thinking I'm going to need to finish first before I post chapter five. We'll see how the writing bug bites though to see which gets out first.**


	5. Chapter V

**A/N: Oddly enough I have the whole of the next chapter planned out and the end of this one set up all before I figured out how I was going to get there.**

It isn't until after dinner and lights out, when the moon light has somehow made its way past the smog of the city and into her room allowing her to make out the shapes surrounding her that she even begins to allow herself to face the impossible feelings she's developed for the boy sleeping two doors down; or perhaps the city's finally fixed that streetlight. It's surreal, the room drained of nearly all color and her sitting in the dark on her bed, fingers lightly pressed into the comforter, tricking her mind into thinking she can feel the outline of dried polish. She absently traces it, reliving the moment when he had looked at her, eyes serious and intense as he leaned ever closer.

The clock beside her reminds her in blaring red numbers the time and how much she likes her sleep; she's allowing her dorky older brother to disturb her slumber. She's half way through a plan to spell his alarm to go off ever thirty minutes, imagining the tired eyes and angry useless yelling, a wide grin splitting her face at the images when she realizes that nothing has changed. She loves him, true, but she's always loved him, in some form or another. She pauses her planning, mind at ease and body suddenly relaxed as she processes this new bit of information, pulling the covers back so she can slid beneath; she can finish designing revenge processes tomorrow.

Her dreams are peaceful and sleep is deep that night. The dark haired wizard doesn't want to leave the warm cocoon of her bed when her alarm blares to life, but for the first time in a forgotten number of nights there's a distinct lack of weariness possessing her body that morning.

Theresa detects her easy strides, noting the distinct lack of under eye circles and pale features and Alex receives a warm hug along with her breakfast. She hadn't realized her mother was worried and can't stop the happy feeling bubbling inside her at the thought that she noticed.

She sits with Justin again at lunch, Harper happily setting her tray down on the vinyl table alongside the brunette girl and beaming at Zeke across the table. Lips curl up in a smile and gray eyes are warm as he takes in his sister's appearance. She takes the opportunity to kick him every few minutes, laughing loudly when one well aimed jerk of her boot causes him to spill his water down the front of his shirt. He glares at her, patting the material dry with a napkin while she grins devilishly at him and leans back, the bare skin of her calf brushing his jeans under the table, but she doesn't bother to move away.

Life's once again starting to resemble the Normal Standard, with a hair changing spell backfiring (who could've see that coming?) and Justin riding in to fix it and berate her. She hugs him after, habit if anyone asks although it's not the typical fight a hug is called for, but she _wants _to and Alex gets what she wants. He holds her close, and the brunette girl breathes him in, allowing the stray thoughts and fleeting emotions to surface. It's nice. Besides, fighting requires work, and she's a lazy person in nature.

She works some more on her paper that evening, nearing the half way mark. The fact that the book lays sprawled out on her comforter, a chapter and half remaining makes no difference in the tapping of the girl's chipped nails on the keys. She's got a flow going, and she can bullshit her way through nearly anything.

It isn't until after her door opens, revealing her mother's surprised face and stern words telling her to go to bed that she notices the red blaring 12:14 on her clock.

**A/N: Sorry this is so short, but I'm a bad mood and don't think I'm going to be expanding any more on this chapter tonight. I think I'm about to cry, I'm so upset. :(**


	6. Chapter VI

**A/N: Last chapter. I once again apologize for how long this took to come about, and thank everyone who saw me through it, as well as those that gave the push I needed to continue. I was planning on posting a preview to my next Jalex story at the end of this one, but since I have so many other tales demanding my attention in high pitched whiny voices it'll be a bit before I can get that one out.**

**For fans of JONAS, Vampire Diaries, Sonny With a Chance, and Glee expect a story in each of those categories to be posted. (All Vampire Diaries and Glee fics will be posted on my other account, check my profile for the link.)**

**There's a couple of paragraphs from **_**Flowers in the Attic **_**near the end in italics in case you were wondering what that was. **

Three days left until the deadline on her extra credit assignment is due, although she knows she's got a good five before the teacher actually expects her to turn in the paper; threats of failure and summer school are idle, done more for show and in a vain attempt to scare the young wizard into submission.

"You finished? Before the report's due?" There's a false surprise in her brother's voice meant to irk her into a comeback. Instead she shoots him a smug smile, tossing the book beside her on the couch and propping boot clad feet on the coffee table.

"Yep." She pops her lips on the "p," watching the half smile and teasing glint enter his eyes as she notes the lack of under eyes circles; he's broken the spell on his alarm.

"Did you enjoy the book?" He tone is too casual, happy even, like he's setting her up for some witty remark waiting on the tip of his tongue. "Finished it pretty fast. For you." He leans back, relaxing against the bright cushion, arms casually thrown across the back of the chair, but he won't look at her.

She chooses her words carefully, a rarity for her, "It was.. interesting." Her voice is as light as his, ignoring the sudden pounding in her chest; there's a tension in the air, like the world is taking a breath, waiting to see who makes the first step off the path and sends everything plundering down. To what, she doesn't know.

They turn to look at each other, smiles still in place, and she finds she's waiting with the world. He breaks first, a teasing sing-song "you liked it" betraying his still immature streak and releasing the world back into fluid movement. She sticks her tongue out at him, snatching up one green patterned pillow and smacking him across the face. Dinner time cuts off what would have been a truly epic pillow fight she's sure, but she can't stop smiling all through the meal. It's ok, he can't either.

The green and purple folder containing the finished report sits before her in a mocking reminder that she finished _early_. It had taken almost an hour of trying to find a way to whittle it down, but there's not a single word she can bring herself to cut from the nearly four page report, a far cry from her just shy of two pages goal. She's torn between feeling proud of her accomplishment and embarrassment over the fact that she's talken her first step to becoming an over achiever. If she starts meeting (or in this case surpassing) people's expectations they'll just make more of them, and the stubborn slacker can't just stand idle and let that happen.

It takes the straight D student nearly all night and most of the gym class (claims of cramps can get you out of anything physical) to write a second, sure to get her at most a C, paper and measly one and three-fourths page report. There's a strange twist in her stomach when she shoves that one in the folder, carefully removing her original hard work and placing it to the side. She enjoyed the book, and the thought that she threw together some half-assed piece doesn't sit well with her.

Jerry's on Alex Duty for the writing of her report; it's amazing how easy it is to trick her father into thinking she's working on it. Dark eyes glance up every few minutes thinking of the two essayss tucked safely away in her backpack before going back to UGHH's latest music video. ("The music helps me type faster, Daddy.") She can see now why Theresa wouldn't let her husband watch the wizard during her scheduled reading time.

She lies and says Justin proof read her essay and is slightly disturbed to find he's not there to contradict her; she hasn't seen him since the night she finished _Flowers in the Attic_. There's surprise on Mr. Thompson's face when she hand's him the folder; it's the end of the school day so technically it still late. She's reasoned that handing him the poor essay early is better than handing in the one she's actually proud (ugg) of in late. She's becoming more anxious the longer it sits in her backpack and she doesn't like the feeling, it's not one she's used to.

Her stomach's doing nervous flips, much like when she asked Dean if he liked her, as she makes her way towards Justin's bed room. He has Alien Language League after school, but she pushes the door open carefully anyways, dark eyes darting around to check that everything still as she remembered it. She walks briskly to his desk, firmly placing the plain yellow folder on the smooth and too organized surface before walking back. She's not sure why the very thought of him reading her original essay causes her stomach to flip and her heart to pound; it's not like there's "Alex Russo has romantic feelings for Justin Russo" hidden within the text. But she wants him to read it and see the hard work and effort she poured into those four pages. She wants him to be proud of her.

_Pinned inside our clothes were two small bags holding bills stolen from Momma's room, divided equally just in case something unforeseen separated Chris from me-then neither of us would be left penniless. And Carrie was sure to be with one of us, and taken care of. In the two suitcases were the heavy coins, also put into two bags, to weigh them evenly._

_Both Chris and I were very much aware of what lay waiting for us on the outside. We hadn't looked at so much TV without learning the worldly and heartless lie in wait for the naive and innocent. We were young and vulnerable, weak, half-sick, but no longer naive, or innocent._

"Knew you liked it." Brown hair twirls as the teen jerks her head around to glare at her older brother, quickly tucking the book under counter. The teasing retort dies on her tongue as a flash of yellow catches her eye, zooming in on the folder clutched in large hands. "I-uh-" the folder moves up, gray eyes darting away for a second before coming back to rest on the girl sitting at the counter. "It's good." He doesn't point out that it's not the one she turned in, Mr. Thompson had been quick to return the essay to her. (It's on the fridge, her first C+ in a long time. Everyone knows he went easy on her, but no one mentions it.) "I like how you pointed out that they can get through anything, because-" he pauses to clear his throat, once again dropping his eyes and surprisingly Alex find's she doesn't have a witty comeback ready for whatever Big Brotherly thing he's about to say, "it's 'her and him' and they belong to each other more because they're not normal."

Gray eyes look up, meeting her own darker orbs once more and she realizes he gets it. She hadn't knowns she wanted him to, or that she even put it in there for him to see, but there's a wave relief that he does, and that he's here, telling her he likes what she's written.

She imagines Chris claiming rape and Cathy taking blame as she stands up, sees Chris clinging onto the vain hope that they're mother was true and right and good like all mothers are supposed to be while Cathy poked and prodded him into breaking those carefully placed rules as she makes her way forward. But all she can see is Justin as she goes up on her toes, one hand resting on his shoulder as she presses her lips against his.

Several reactions flash through her mind; a quick jerk away followed by a hasty retreat, a frozen body under her hands and stunned look as she pulls away, a sputtering of words as the kiss breaks and burning cheeks with darting eyes. So when her brother pauses for a few seconds before her hips are gripped by strong hands and her body jerked forward, a(n embarrassingly) girly squeak escapes the back of her throat, both hands clinching into his collar as the kiss turns more intense. Low hungry noises are issuing from Justin and she can hear him breathing hard through his nose, echoing her own labored breath.

The counter presses into her hip as she backs up, bringing their bodies impossibly closer. She pulls away slightly, chuckling softly at the small noise of protest her brother makes as the loss of contact. Her hands are still tangled the collar of his button up and she can feel his fingers flexing over the torn denim of her jeans. His breath ghosts her lips, his eyelids half lowered over steel coulored irises, she licks her lips, tasting the lingering flavor.

He whispers her name, low and slightly desperate and she's knows that he's Justin: rule follower, smart, resident freak-out-over-little-things in their family. But as his hold on her hips tightens as he hoists her onto the island's counter, hips falling into the v of her legs as his lips find her's once more, she's reminded of one more thing he is; teenage boy.

**A/N: Do I need to add a Epilogue? I feel like it needs it. What do you guys think? Reviews are much appreicated. :)**


End file.
